The Schmooze lies at the intersection of high and low culture. Here, the latest developments and trends in Jewish art, books, dance, film, music, media, television and theater are all assimilated into one handy pop culture blog.
The Schmooze
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Google Doodle Celebrates Jewish Inventor Hertha Ayrton
Happy 162nd birthday, Hertha Marks Ayrton! Ayrton, a British Jewish-born inventor — who was also an engineer, mathematician, and physicist, putting those of us proud of our double majors to shame — is the subject of today’s Google Doodle. Among her many achievements, Ayrton was the first woman to present a paper of her own…
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Meet the Lucky 10-Year-Old Girl Who Rocked Out With Bruce Springsteen
Fourth grader Diana Zorek has a pretty cool story to tell her friends when she goes back to school after spring break. The 10 year old from the Upper West Side of Manhattan just sang “Blinded By the Light” as a duet with Bruce Springsteen as 18,000 fans looked on and cheered at the Barclays…
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8 Reasons We Love Jerry Seinfeld on His 62nd Birthday
April 29 is Jerome “Jerry” Seinfeld’s 62nd birthday and this Brooklyn-born comedian has become a larger-than-life figure in the lives of all Jews. He’s gone from our favorite 90’s TV stand up comedian on nine seasons of “Seinfeld” to a chauffeur of sorts and coffee connoisseur on “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.” Without Seinfeld, we…
The Latest
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Prince’s Jewish Bandmates Announce Plans For Reunion Tour
Prince’s former Jewish bandmates from The Revolution have announced plans for a reunion to honor the late rock legend, who passed April 21. A video announcement was posted on drummer Bobby “Z” Rivkin’s Facebook page and included all the former band members BrownMark, Bobby Z, Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman and Matt Fink. “We have decided,…
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This Is the Perfect Antidote for Your Case of Mimouna Sephardi-Envy
A Moroccan bar in Israel has found the cure for Sephardi-envy around mimouna season. For those who do not know, Mimouna is a Jewish North African tradition. The holiday takes places the day after passover, and celebrates being able to eat hametz again with delicious confectionary and floured foods and much merriment. If you grew…
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WATCH: Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Edward Snowden in New Oliver Stone Film
Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s next role has him filling big shoes as Edward Snowden, the NSA contractor who leaked classified information about the U.S. government’s surveillance programs in 2013. Directed by Oliver Stone and co-written by Stone and Kieran Fitzgerald, Gordon-Levitt sports glasses and affects a deeper voice in an attempt to look and sound like the…
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Lea Michele Discovers Greek Jewish Roots on ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’
“Glee” star Lea Michele discovered her Greek Jewish roots in the season finale of Emmy-nominated series “Who Do You Think You Are?” which will air on Sunday. With the help of Devin E. Naar, who researches Sephardic Jewry at the University of Washington, Michele learned that her paternal grandmother’s family came from the northern Greek…
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Amy Schumer Says She Regretted Writing ‘Trainwreck’ After Theater Shooting
Amy Schumer opened up about her reaction and feelings in the aftermath of a Louisiana cinema shooting that killed two and injured nine during a screening of Schumer’s “Trainwreck.” In a candid interview and profile for Vanity Fair’s May issue, Schumer recalled the moment when she found out about the July 23, 2015 shooting from…
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Donald Trump Says Good Riddance If Lena Dunham Wants To Move to Canada
Donald Trump said Tuesday that he will “be doing a great service to our country,” if his election leads to Lena Dunham moving to Canada. “Well, she’s a B-actor, and, you know, has no — you know, mojo,” Trump said of the Jewish “Girls” star during a phone interview with “Fox & Friends.” The Republican…
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Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services — Changing Thousands of Lives
As the 350 guests entered the Plaza Ballroom for the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services 2016 Spring Benefit, they were entertained by the hip, energetic, innovative Maccabeats ensemble. “Today we are bigger and better than ever and tonight’s celebration is one of the most successful we have ever had!” Alice Tisch Board of…
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Harvey Fierstein and Jennifer Hudson To Star in ‘Hairspray’ on TV
Jennifer Hudson and Harvey Fierstein have signed on to NBC’s “Hairspray Live!,” the network’s next live Broadway musical. Hudson will play Motormouth Maybelle, while Fierstein will play Edna Turnblad, the role he won a Tony for in the stage version. He will also write the teleplay. “We are beyond thrilled with this incredibly talented duo…
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